ADB grants $320 million to improve roads in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Policemen stand guard along a street a day after a mosque suicide blast inside a police headquarters in Peshawar, Pakistan on February 1, 2023. (AFP/File)

• Lack of resilient infrastructure has escalated the impact of disasters like floods on people and livelihoods
• Flooding events since 2010 have substantially damaged roads, hampering connectivity and spiking transport costs

ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday approved a $320 million loan to help rehabilitate roads in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province and enhance “safe and all-weather connectivity” in rural areas. 
Annual rainfall and temperature patterns have significantly increased in parts of the province, and the lack of resilient infrastructure has escalated the impact of disasters on people and livelihoods. Flooding events since 2010 have substantially damaged the road network, hampering connectivity and escalating transportation costs.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rural Roads Development Project will upgrade around 900 kilometers of rural roads in the province that are susceptible to floods and are in poor condition. These cover key routes that link remote communities to education, health care, and markets. The project includes measures to incorporate climate-resilient design, road safety enhancement, and sustainable maintenance practices.
“This vital infrastructure project will reduce travel time, lower transportation costs, and increase access to economic opportunities for millions of residents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov said in a statement. 
“By providing better access to markets and services, we are empowering local communities and driving inclusive economic growth in one of Pakistan’s most underserved regions.”
The project will offer technical and financial support to assist the provincial government in preparing “long-term targeted interventions” that will enhance the climate resilience and sustainability of the province’s road network. 
“ADB will help the government conduct a comprehensive study on flood susceptibility, with a focus on landslide vulnerability across the province, to identify priority roads,” ADB Senior Transport Specialist Seunghyun Kim said. 
“We will support the government in preparing concessional contracts for the operation and maintenance of two tourism roads, which will contribute to the sustainability of the road network.”
Roads dominate Pakistan’s transport system, with almost 96 percent of freight traffic and 92 percent of passenger traffic passing through the road networks. Provincial roads, like those in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, connect district centers with the national highway network and are vital in facilitating trade as well as providing access to health, education, and other public services.
Pakistan was a founding member of the ADB. Since 1966, the bank has committed over $52 billion in public and private sector loans, grants, and other forms of financing “to promote inclusive economic growth” in Pakistan and improve the country’s infrastructure, energy and food security, transport networks, and social services.